Product category:
Building Energy Efficiency and Sustainability
News Release from: Axion Recycling | Subject: Recycled PVC cuts environmental impact
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 14 May 2008
Recycled PVC cuts environmental impact
new calculations by plastic recycler, Axion Recycling shows that manufacturing new building products from recycled PVC-U has about 6% of the global warming impact of using virgin polymer.
The company, which administers the Recovinyl PVC-U recycling initiative in the UK, says this finding strengthens the argument for greater use of recyclate in new items, such as PVC-U window and door profiles 'An added benefit is that manufacturers can develop products to attract 'eco-conscious' consumers, as well as save on escalating raw material costs given the current record oil prices,' says Roger Morton, Axion's Commercial Director
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 17 Mar 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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In 2007, more than 40,000 tonnes of waste PVC-U was recycled in the UK, much of it from end-of-life windows and doors.
Recovinyl is funded by the PVC industry body Vinyl 2010 formed to demonstrate commitment to sustainable development and encourages greater recycling of post-use plastic from items as diverse as end-of-life window and door frames to cable management products, flooring and pipes.
Axion came to its conclusion on the global warming impact of collecting and recycling end-of-life PVC using updated information from DEFRA on CO2 emissions and data on power consumption and other energy uses at a typical UK PVC recycling facility.
Further reading
Record PVC-U recycling rates forecast by Recovinyl
Nearly 40,000 tonnes of PVC-U will have been recycled in 2007, according to record figures forecast by Recovinyl, the PVC-U industry's recycling initiative.
Axion launches flooring recycling scheme
Pioneering trials aimed at demonstrating the sustainability and recyclability of PVC flexible flooring are to be launched this month.
Landfill tax rise will promote PVC recycling
Recovinyl, the PVC industry's recycling initiative, has welcomed the rise in landfill tax as a great sustainable incentive to encourage more PVC recycling.
Collecting and mechanically recycling one tonne of recovered PVC, which can directly substitute virgin polymer in a new application, will generate about 120 kg CO2 per tonne of PVC recycled.
The latest eco- profile data from Plastics Europe for virgin PVC indicates that producing one tonne of virgin PVC from its primary raw materials (salt and oil) will generate about 1,900 kg of CO2 emissions.
Using the recycled PVC chip therefore creates a 94% saving in CO2 emissions compared to production of virgin PVC polymer.
Most recycled PVC can be re-used as a clean chip to substitute virgin polymer so there are fewer melting costs.
This helps to reduce the carbon impact of the recycled material compared to virgin.
The 40,000 tonnes of end of life PVC that were recycled through the Recovinyl system in the UK during 2007 will have saved up to 71,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
This is because the majority of this material will have been used in applications that directly substitute virgin polymer.
Roger says the carbon credentials of even virgin PVC are better than for other polymer types.
'The carbon impact of making new PVC-U is lower than for other types of polymer because it is made partly from salt and partly from oil.
Most other polymer types are made entirely from oil.
'Another advantage is that PVC is a long-life material that can be recycled up to ten times without any loss in performance, making it ideal for use in new building products such as window and door profiles, fascias and soffits'.
The PVC-U industry is continually looking to develop new products from recycled material, such as cladding and window cills made from 100% recycled PVC-U.
Earlier this year, low-maintenance building materials group Epwin Group unveiled its fully recycled PVC-U window at Eco- Build, proving that a new plastic window could be made solely from post- consumer waste.
Similarly, systems supplier Profile 22 produces a new recycled composite material (RCM) profile reinforcement made from post-consumer PVC-U waste, closing the loop on the recycling process and delivering a wide range of benefits in replacing steel and aluminium sections in the window construction process.
'The technology exists to produce building products made from 100% recycled PVC-U, allowing the UK construction industry to demonstrate a truly sustainable way forward,' adds Roger.
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